As I mentioned on our call yesterday, the library administrator and the office of At Large City Council Member Rebecca Kaplan have agreed to work with the Friends of the Tool Lending Library toward making a budget request from the City Council in January for a one-time expenditure to fund the expansion, or expansion and relocation, of the Tool Lending Library (TLL), in order to resolve the long-standing space, access and capacity issues with the TLL.
To do that, we will need a concrete
proposal (with budget numbers) that (1) addresses the current and
future needs of the TLL (and possibly a community classroom/work space), and (2) identifies a specific City building (assuming a move) and the work necessary to make it ready to house the TLL.
I along with some other members of the Friends of the Tool Lending Library are taking the lead on drafting a report that identifies the TLL's current and future needs and priorities, gathers
community input, and makes a strong case for why we need to increase access and capacity.
The library administration will work with the City's Real Estate Department to identify a space based on the criteria we have provided previously (1200-1500 square feet at ground level for easy access, with parking and reasonably close to a freeway and transit lines), and determine the cost of readying that space.
One of the ways we could increase the value of this resource without necessarily increasing initial or ongoing costs to the City would be to relocate to a space large enough to accommodate an expanded TLL (1200-1500 square feet), and also a complimentary space that could house a community classroom and/or a community work space/maker space. My thinking is that the latter operation might be run by a non-profit organization, rather than the City (which presumably does not have the resources to take on and manage a work
space).
I note that I have discussed this last idea - a work space/maker space - in a City-owned building - only casually with city officials and the library administration. While it always elicits a positive reaction, we have not sought nor received any official approval or interest.